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February 11, 2016

Return of Jake's Mezcal Column! Nuestra Soledad: La Compania Ejutla

Well since it's negative ten degrees out, let's live vicariously through the temperate winters of Mexico with another of Jake's awesome mezcal reviews.

Nuestra Soledad: La Compania Ejutla

2013 Edition 4

Bottle # 326/1120

47% abv

100% Espadin

Distillery (Palenque): Los Bigatones

Master distiller: Gonzalo Hernandez

Nuestra
Soledad is another wonderful brand that is delivering us with a true slice of
Mexican tradition via its wonderful artisanal mezcals. They are working hand in
hand with traditional mezcal distilleries (Palenque) throughout various
villages within Oaxaca. The four different villages these bottlings come from
are San Luis del Rio, San Baltazar Guelavila, Santiago Matalan and La Comania
Ejutla. Their goal with this brand, aside from providing us with some damn fine
mezcal, is to showcase the versatility of mezcals made solely from the Espadin
variety of agave. As mentioned in an earlier post, Espadin is the most commonly
cultivated agave for mezcal production thus responsible for most of the mezcals
on American Market today.

By working solely with Espadin for their bottlings, what
other factors could possibly change the way a mezcal smells and tastes? Well,
if you have been reading the blog so far you will know this is a silly question
because there are so many influences on the final profile of a mezcal. Remember
there are no stupid questions. Just really silly ones. Age of the cultivated
agave, the different soils and elevations of each village, the method and
duration of smoking the Pina, the water source used during production and
during proofing, the fermentation method and length and the distillation method
are really just a few of the factors that can affect the final profile of a
mezcal. This becomes way more apparent when you are fortunate enough to taste
mezcals side by side. Even if not side by side, the more often you drink mezcal
in general you will notice differences and nuances from bottle to bottle. What
I am saying is that you need to start drinking more…Slackers.

And that’s
why I think the Nuestra Soledad line up is going to be very important to the development
of mezcal in the states. I believe that you should taste all of their bottlings
(really not to hard at 40-50 dollars a bottle) and see for yourself the
stylistic differences between each village’s mezcal. Or find a really great
Mezcal bar and ask them to pour you a flight so you can do the side by side
without committing to a full bottle of each. Make it a competition. Taste them
all, then pick which one you like the most. My favorite spots (aside from my
own living room) to go enjoy a mezcal right now are Mayahuel in NYC and Leyenda
in Brooklyn. This particular bottle was enjoyed at Leyenda BK last week. A
Wonderful cocktail bar with a pan Latin influence and one of the best (and well
priced) little mezcal lists around. The spirits list is literally a leather
bound book. Ron Burgundy would approve.

This Bottle
is the Latest release of the La Compania Ejutla. Grown and Distilled by
brothers Gonzalo and Gregorio Hernandez, it was roasted in traditional pits
using mesquite and oak and double distilled in copper stills. Together these
brothers run a Palenque called Los Bigatones. It is named such because both
Gonzalo and Gregorio have mustaches of biblical proportion that would put even
the most outlandish of Williamsburg hipsters to shame.

Their Palenque is beautiful
and hand worked by them and their family who have been doing this for
generations. At about 5,000 feet above sea level, the agave sees a wonderful
view as it matures and awaits their masterful hands to unearth them and create
a beautiful spirit for us to savor and enjoy. I mean really, they make it for
themselves and their loved ones and for people of the local area. We, are just
a few fortunate foreigners that get to taste their liquid piece of art. And at
only 1120 bottles for this batch, it truly is a limited piece of art. So go
find a bottle. And share it with friends and family as it was intended by the
masterful hands that crafted it.

Gregorio Hernandez with his own personal brand (not in production anymore) Mr. Mustache!

Tasting
Notes

Nose: Nice
melding of smoke and fresh fruit. Green Apple and Bell Pepper creep past the
burnt out campfire smoke. A quick flash of black pepper almost enough to make
you sneeze. Vanilla bean and graham cracker find its way in there and a nice
pinch of roasted ginger.

Palate: The
fruit dances around first only to give heed to the mesquite that finally makes
a guest appearance. The smoke is really pleasing and balanced out wonderfully
by the other elements. Rosemary and Dried Juniper berries. Charcuterie like
speck. An oven roasted asparagus wrapped in prosciutto! Salinity and mineral
toward the end but trumped by a sweet vanilla.

Finish: As
the Mineral and Fruit taper off, the vanilla starts to come back a bit
accompanied by the black pepper and green apple. Spicy ginger and that burnt
out campfire leave the last impression as it slowly fades. Good thing my glass
is ful….Empty!!! Heavy Sigh

Verdict:
Very nicely balanced and wonderfully expressive for an affordable mezcal. Made
with love and mastery which really is quite evident right away but even more so
as you spend some time with this. Cant wait to explore the whole line and see
what batches keep coming our way.